What did Edward Snowden do?
Edward Snowden is an American whistle-blower who leaked classified information from the NSA when he was an employee there in 2013. He uncovered many global surveillance programs run by the NSA with the cooperation of telecommunication companies and European governments. It prompted an important discussion about people’s privacy and national security in general.
What happened after the leaks?
Snowden became disillusioned with the programs he was involved with at the NSA and tried to raise his ethical concerns, but he was ignored. In June 2013, Snowden revealed thousands of classified NSA documents to journalists. These stories went public in many publications, and later that month, the United States Department of Justice unsealed charges against Snowden, with 2 counts of violating the Espionage Act of 1917 and theft of government property, and revoked his passport.
However, 2 days later, he flew into the Moscow Airport, Russian authorities looked at the cancelled passport, and he was restricted to the airport terminal for over a month.
Where is Edward Snowden now?
Russia granted Edward Snowden asylum with an initial visa residence of 1 year, which was later extended. In October 2020, he was granted permanent residency in Russia, and this is where he currently lives with his wife Lindsay Mills and their 2 sons, born in 2020 and 2022 respectively. Snowden also has a job at an unnamed IT company in Russia.
In September 2022, Snowden was granted Russian citizenship by President Vladimir Putin. In December 2022, he swore the oath of allegiance.
Snowden has been both praised and condemned for the leaks and has defended his actions, claiming the general public has a right to know about their privacy being breached. He published a memoir in 2019, called Permanent Record.
Oliver Stone directed a movie about his life that was released in 2016, called Snowden, with Joseph Gordon Levitt playing the lead role. There was also a documentary about Snowden released in 2014 called Citizenfour, which granted the movie makers access to him and featured numerous interviews with the famous leaker.
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